Medicare Officials To Explain Delays

September 10, 1986|By ELAINE A. ELLIS, Staff Writer

Ray Wittstein`s recent crusade to speed up reimbursement of Medicare payments has reached Jacksonville, and as a result, two Medicare executives will make the journey Friday to Wittstein`s weekly discussion group to answer questions and explain the delays.

At a group meeting in August, Wittstein had gathered information on approximately 50 cases where payments have been delayed. He sent the information on to Medicare officials in Jacksonville and Washington, D.C.

``Those Medicare letters stirred up the executives,`` Wittstein said. ``I had one case of $2,058 in payments. They submitted the forms in April, and they just got the final payment.``

From 10 a.m. to noon Friday at the West Boca Community Center, 9400 Pondwood Road off of Lyons Road, Wittstein will monitor a discussion between the two Medicare representatives and the public, which is invited to attend.

``It`s a fact that people retired down here are not eating on the day they buy their prescriptions,`` Wittstein said.

Most of the cases that people submitted to Wittstein involved approximately $2,000 to $3,000 in outstanding payments.

``A lot of the time, when people called (Medicare) to ask where their checks were, they were told there was no record of it or it was not on the computer yet,`` Wittstein said. ``The claims were flowing in so fast the staff available couldn`t handle it.``

Wittstein hopes he and others will get some answers Friday.

Since seating at the center is limited, he asks that those interested in attending call 482-0269 or 482-1058 to reserve a place.